The world is upside down

[IBrake4Rainbows]

Automatics - in particular small to mid sized ones - are at a price premium in Australia, easily selling for $1,000 over their manual equivalent.

So this could simply be manufacturers making hay while the sun shines.

[pimento]

Automatics - in particular small to mid sized ones - are at a price premium in Australia, easily selling for $1,000 over their manual equivalent.

And most people don't pause before ticking that box.

[IBrake4Rainbows]

I was truly, truly amazed my sister didn't stretch her budget and buy the Auto Barina.

Especially when it comes to resale value. Of course this is brilliant for us, because if you can be bothered to hunt out a second hand manual car, they're buttloads cheaper.

[NSXType-R]

Asking pricing for auto versions are still at least 1500-2000 Euros up from the manual versions, which is many cases adds more than 10% to the car price. So the cost argument in Europe is still very much valid.

and how hard I tried, I could not find in any sense in the first post in this thread. Maserati and Ferrari are anything but the representative Italian car.

Automatics definitely cost more than manuals here too, but that always seems to be the first option everyone ticks off when they purchase a car here.

[wwgkd]

I know with a lot of cars here the auto is heavier duty, so many of the people who are towing buy them for the increased tow rating you get (which still seems counter-intuitive to me.) My mom's liberty had the tow rating go up by 2,000lbs with the auto, which may explain some of the increased cost if you're not comparing apples to apples.

[henk4]

I know with a lot of cars here the auto is heavier duty, so many of the people who are towing buy them for the increased tow rating you get (which still seems counter-intuitive to me.) My mom's liberty had the tow rating go up by 2,000lbs with the auto, which may explain some of the increased cost if you're not comparing apples to apples.

The likes of the Toyota Aygo are not exactly towing trucks....

[wwgkd]

The likes of the Toyota Aygo are not exactly towing trucks....

True. What I meant was if there is a difference there then there may be a difference in quality or somewhat for the cars too.

[henk4]

True. What I meant was if there is a difference there then there may be a difference in quality or somewhat for the cars too.

nope, you can get a car with a manual or with an autobox of some sort, and generally the allowed towing amount is higher for a manual.

[Clivey]

Once again, I have to say that I agree with Ferrer on this...

...you can't even get a Ferrari 458 italia with a manual 'box. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with their paddleshift system, but for pure heart-over-head reasons (and why would you go by anything else when you're talking about a Ferrari), you should be able to get one with this:



I mean: Just look at it. Imagine the satisfaction of taming a thoroughbred Italian supercar without having to rely on electronics (including an auto 'box) to do things for you. If I want to change gears via a button, I can save myself £200,000 and just use my XBox...but most of the time, I want to drive the car.

In other words, and I'm going to throw this out there: The autos were just introduced for pussies and posers who just buy fast cars as trinkets.

[clutch-monkey]

i actually felt it was a shame that lambo announced they were discontinuing manuals, more so than ferrari.
ferrari was always more about the numbers and being race derived rah rah rah.. lambo's are for fun. which meant gated manuals.

[Clivey]

i actually felt it was a shame that lambo announced they were discontinuing manuals, more so than ferrari.
ferrari was always more about the numbers and being race derived rah rah rah.. lambo's are for fun. which meant gated manuals.

Exactly...although I do think the Lambo experience could have been more visceral and pure if they'd made a RWD Murcielago. Paddleshift transmissions suit AWD cars very well, I feel (see the Mitsubishi Evo and Nissan GTR for good examples), however I feel the Lamborghini Murcielago could and should have been made available with RWD and a gated manual 'box (at least as an 'SV' model).

The thought of firing-up a RWD manual Murcie actually makes me tingle with excitement. It's a shame that dream will remain in fantasyland.

[clutch-monkey]

well.. the balboni edition gallardo would easily suffice

[pimento]

i actually felt it was a shame that lambo announced they were discontinuing manuals, more so than ferrari.
ferrari was always more about the numbers and being race derived rah rah rah.. lambo's are for fun. which meant gated manuals.

The trackday Ferraris yes, but for the 'everyday' ones it's a shame there's no real manual option. I guess they can't showcase their electronics prowess that way though..

[Ferrer]

It's ironic that it is Ferrari who leads (led) the popularisation of automatic gearboxes in sportscars.

Well I guess there's still Porsche and Aston Martin.

[henk4]

It's ironic that it is Ferrari who leads (led) the popularisation of automatic gearboxes in sportscars.

Well I guess there's still Porsche and Aston Martin.

no, Ferrari did not, it was Porsche's Sportomatic (basically an automated clutch) that started it. And Porsche did hesitate to use that gearbox in sports events.
Then Ferrari brought in the Borg Warner box for the 365/400 semi-sedan model, clearly aiming at the US market.